Maharashtra Farmers Celebrate Victory as Loan Waiver Restrictions Eased

Mumbai, July 11: Rohit Pawar, a legislator from the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP), stated on Saturday that the Maharashtra government’s decision to lift restrictive conditions associated with the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar loan waiver scheme marks a significant victory for farmers, organizations, and political leaders across the state.

During a press conference, Pawar noted that on June 2, the state government announced a substantial loan waiver of ₹36,585 crore aimed at benefiting approximately 5.6 million farmers.

However, the NCP-SP leader criticized the initial complexity and unfairness of the scheme. Under the original framework, over 3.5 million farmers risked being completely excluded from its benefits.

Pawar highlighted two major points that sparked widespread outrage. He mentioned that farmers who availed of the loan waiver in 2019 received a maximum relief of only ₹50,000. He condemned this condition as grossly unjust, emphasizing that since 2019, farmers have faced rising costs for fertilizers, seeds, labor, and transportation, alongside the devastating impacts of climate change.

He claimed that to qualify for the state government’s incentive subsidy, farmers were initially required to repay their crop loans on time for any two of the three cycles: 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25. However, the state government added a stringent secondary condition, mandating repayment for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 cycles as well. This meant that farmers would need to settle loans for four years to receive the incentive, putting millions at risk of being left out.

Detailing the sustained movements that compelled the state government to act, the NCP-SP legislator presented a timeline of intense protests. From June 12 to 14, activists and farmers staged a hunger strike in Pandharpur.

The strike was temporarily called off after Minister Girish Mahajan promised a review meeting, but the state government later failed to hold such a meeting.

In response to the government’s silence, thousands of farmers marched in a massive Elgar Morcha in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on June 29.